NASCAR Rankings & Championship Odds

Atlanta Motor Speedway -- 03/8/2009

Author: Jeremy Dunn

Published: Monday Mar 9 2009 2:27pm

After riding in the shadows of his little brother Kyle for the last year, Kurt Busch reminded the NASCAR world that he is still the guy that put the Busch family on the Sprint Cup map. He led an overwhelming 234 laps in the 330-lap event. Jeff Gordon finished in the second position and his winless streak persists. Anticipated contenders such as Greg Biffle and Mark Martin ran into trouble and finished towards the back of the pack.

Martin Truex Jr spent Saturday evening in the hospital after passing a kidney stone. Nevertheless, the temporary ailment did not slow him down, as he posted a tenth place finish, his best finish of the season thus far.

The Sprint Cup Series will not race next weekend. Bristol Motors Speedway is next on the agenda, May 22.

1. (3) 24-Jeff Gordon: 5-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Jeff Gordon winless streak continues to extend; however, he appears to be on top of his game thus far in 2009. He has been competitive in all four races to this point. It is just a matter of time before he revisits victory lane. He led 47 laps and challenged Kurt Busch for the victory.

He currently leads the Sprint Cup championship standings by 43 markers over Clint Bowyer.

After four races, Jeff Gordon has yet to win, but he has posted two top five finishes, and three top ten finishes. He leads the Sprint Cup Series with a driver rating of 120.5 and an average running position of 5.818.

2. (1) 17-Matt Kenseth: 7-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Matt Kenseth had faded some since his two-race winning streak to begin the 2009 Sprint Cup campaing. He was not among the frontrunners on a consistent basis at Atlanta, but there were several drivers that uncharacteristically struggled. Kenseth was able to finish twelfth after qualifying in the thirtieth position.

He is currently fifth in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 88 points behind Jeff Gordon.

After four races, Matt Kenseth leads the Sprint Cup series with two wins. He has two top five finishes, and two top ten finishes. He has a driver rating of 89.0, and an average running position of 17.607

3. (9) 2-Kurt Busch: 20-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Typically, it is the younger brother that lingers in the shadow of his older brother. Ever since the beginning of 2008, Kurt Busch has watched his younger sibling Kyle rack up win after win. Finally, on Sunday, it was Kurt’s time to shine. He was the top Busch brother at Atlanta after leading a whopping 234 laps en route to his nineteenth career win.

He is currently third in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 46 points behind Jeff Gordon.

After four races, Kurt Busch has one win, two top five finishes, and three top ten finishes. He has a driver rating of 108.2, and an average running position of 8.507.

4. (2) 18-Kyle Busch: 5-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Kyle Busch was frustrated following his eighteenth place finish. The defending winner of the Kobalt Tools 500 left the track without comment. Meanwhile, his older brother was celebrating in victory lane. After qualifying in the ninth position, Busch hung around the top ten in the early going, but a lack of balance caused him to fade into mid-pack.

He is currently seventh in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 120 points behind Jeff Gordon.

After four races, Kyle Busch has one win, two top five finishes, and two top ten finishes. He has a driver rating of 104.0, and an average running position of 11.543.

5. (6) 33-Clint Bowyer: 40-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Very few projected that Clint Bowyer would be a Chase for the Championship contender; however, he posting solid results week in and week out. He has three top ten finishes in the first four races. Several analysts assumed that Bowyer would struggle with his new team, but he and the No. 33 group have swiftly gelled. Bowyer finished sixth on Sunday, and was in the top five and ten for most of the afternoon.

Bowyer is second in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 43 points behind Jeff Gordon.

After four races, Bowyer has two top five finishes and three top ten finishes. He has a driver rating of 85.9, and an average running position of 15.664.

6. (5) 14-Tony Stewart: 15-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Tony Stewart overcame a two-lap deficit en route to his eighth place finish. It was a solid effort by his Stewart Haas Racing group. Stewart was running near the top ten when he pitted under green. During the green flag pit stops, NASCAR waved the caution, trapping Stewart a lap down. As mentioned before, he recovered nicely.

Stewart is currently sixth in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 113 points behind Jeff Gordon.

After four races, Stewart has three top ten finishes, and a driver rating of 95.9, and an average running position of 11.958.

7. (7) 99-Carl Edwards: 5-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Carl Edwards has yet to really hit his stride in 2009, though he showed signs at Atlanta that the 2008 Carl Edwards is back. Edwards qualified back in 29th position, but he was able to maneuver his way to the front, eventually leading twenty-eight laps. He ended the day with a third place finish, his best finish of the season.

He is currently fourth in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 87 points behind Jeff Gordon.

After four races, Edwards has one top five finish, and two top ten finishes. He has a driver rating of 104.3, and an average running position of 8.583.

8. (4) 16-Greg Biffle: 7-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

After qualifying fifth on Friday, it seemed inevitable that Greg Biffle was going to remain in the top five for most of the race. However, he encountered severe handing issues. He eventually lost a lap to the leaders. A pit road penalty forced him to the back of the pack on a restart. He was collected in wreck that involved Scott Speed. After finishing in the 34th positon, Biffle was ready to depart Hotlanta.

Biffle is currently tenth in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 154 points behind Jeff Gordon.

After four races, Biffle has one top five finish, and two top ten finishes. He has a driver rating of 92.5, and an average running position of 15.382.

9. (8) 48-Jimmie Johnson: 9-2 Sprint Cup championship odds

It is difficult to believe that Jimmie Johnson has yet to score a single top five finish after four races. Johnson has led laps, and he is been competitive, he just cannot seem to put himself in positon to either win, or score a top five finish. Johnson and the No. 48 team are still the best in the business, so a top five is coming, especially with tracks such as Martinsville, Texas, and Phoenix looming. He led eleven laps and finished in the ninth position.

Johnson is currently thirteenth in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 177 points behind his teammate Jeff Gordon. He is eighteen points behind twelfth place David Reutimann.

After four races, Jimmie Johnson has two top ten finishes, and a driver rating of 104.2 and an average running position of 8.487.

10. (NR) 29-Kevin Harvick: 25-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Kevin Harvick qualified in the tenth position and finished fourth. It was another consistent day for one of NASCAR’s most consistent drivers. All four Richard Childress Racing entries finished in the top sixteen.

Harvick is currently eighth in the Sprint Cup championship standings 123 points behind Jeff Gordon.

After four races, Harvick has two top five finishes, and two top ten finishes. He has a driver rating of 88.4, and an average running position of 14.369.

On the rise: Brian Vickers (60-1 championship odds), Kasey Kahne (40-1 championship odds), Martin Truex Jr (100-1 championship odds), Denny Hamlin (20-1 championship odds), and Dale Earnhardt Jr (18-1 championship odds)

On the decline: David Reutimann, Mark Martin (20-1 championship odds), Joey Logano (100-1 championship odds), Juan Pablo Montoya (85-1 championship odds), and Bobby Labonte

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User	Comment
Nascar Groupie	I don`t think Kevin will be much of an influence in Nascar this season. Yea he is a good driver, but he is a good driver in the middle of lots of great drivers. Nascar is all about being better than good if you want to win.
Perdy	Kevin Harvick is one to watch the rest of the season. He`s been pretty consistent this year so far and I think he`ll continue to do so. Nice standings right now.
OGr8ty8	Jimmie Johnson is a wonderful driver and I hope that he will be able to run well to be in the top-10 or even win some races. He does have what it takes to go all the way to the championship. He`s got the fan base behind him with more added every year. I have a friend that just discovered him at the end of last year and now he`s her favorite. She even places small bets on him to win. He`s just a nice guy.
RaceFan88	I like the fact that the odds of Jeff Gordon winning the championship are pretty good. Even though he`s winless, he`s running well and it`s only a matter of time that he is back in the winner`s circle.
RIRmama	It`s only a matter of time before Gordon wins. I think no matter how much you hate him you have to know he`s a good driver. Next weekend should be interesting!
2nd Place	I think a conservative bet is to bet on Jimmie Johnson like I did last year. At this moment overall his skills as a driver and the way his new pit crew has merged together show me a typical scenario in the Nascar world.
FastTrack	I don`t see Edwards as a championship winner this year, however I do see him at least in the top four or three so he is in shooting range of the championship.
Karlee	I`m ready for Edwards to hit his stride in 2009. 3rd place is a start but he can do better. I think he can make up those 87 points to get past Gordon and do better than 4th place.
Cal	234 laps is a HUGE deal, could you even imagine whupping someone that bad? I do think he is on fire lately but how is anyone else going to catch up to him?
brownlee59	Yes Kurt did fantastic! I do think Jeff Gordon is starting to come back too. Although I`m not a Gordon fan, he hasn`t won a race in a long time.
jamming	Holy cow! I didn`t get to see this last race and I didn`t know Busch led by 234 laps. That`s absolutely phenomenal. I really think Kurt may be coming into his own.
junkyard	It`s time for someone else to win the next race. We`ve two Busch`s and Kenseth`s two. Somebody else needs to step up and get rolling. I`ve got my eyes on Biffle and Edwards for this coming up race.
NapaFave55	I`m glad Jeff came in at least second place although it would have been nice to see him finish first and break that winless streak. There`s always Bristol to look forward to on March 22. Here`s hoping that his losing streak ends there.
jade06	I hope to see Joey Logano rise again and make it to the top someday. Especially Dale Earnhardt Jr., he has a long way to go. I can`t wait to see them both at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
brix12	I couldn`t believe that my favorite driver Greg Biffle got involved in a car wreck with Scott Speed. A lot of his fans including me were expecting that he would make it to the victory lane.
ryder_29	Right, it`s time for Kurt Busch to shine, and it seems like Kyle Busch wasn`t happy because being a defending winner, he lost the Kobalt Tool victory from his older brother. He should be congratulating his own brother instead of thinking about himself.
Tetchie	I admire Martin Truex Jr.`s motivation when he participated at the Atlanta Motor Speedway racing even though he suffered from a temporary kidney problem. I was like, `Oh that was fast`. He was supposed to rest for a day or two and cancel his racing schedule because of his condition.